Six of the Best Retail Interior Designs of 2012

31st December 2012

Taken from Retail Week’s selections for ‘Store of the Week’ during 2012, 25% of these 52 global retail designs are pop-up stores – illustrating how that this trend for temporary retail has flourished during our current economic climate and that creativity – not just in design but in business approach have been key to helping some of these brands retain their position in the marketplace.

Reischmann, Kempten, Germany

Reischmann successfully challenges the popular preconception of what a sports retail store should look like inside. The Retail interior design is based on a luxury log cabin with a stone-clad chimney breast, open log fire and lots and lots of wood. At first glance you might be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into someone’s ski lodge by mistake. Brown leather chairs, a furry rug and soft lighting all contribute to a homely ambience which gently compliments the rails and shelves of clothes which have been sympathetically eased into the design, offering shoppers a warm, homely place to browse at leisure.

Piccino, Valencia, Spain

The design of this store gives a distinctly 2D feel, despite being a 3D environment – just take a look at our photo of the interior here to see what we mean. Piccino sells children’s clothes and the emphasis here is on fun. Acknowledging that clothes shopping with kids can sometimes be a drag, the retail design team have turned it into something special – a customer experience where children might actively wish to visit the store rather than make excuses to get out quickly! Retail Week suggest that this retail design is one of the simplest Store of the Week winners this year but also one of the most unusual.

Whole Foods Market, Glasshouse Street, London, UK

Back home in the US, Whole Foods Market is revered by food enthusiasts but got off to a shaky start here in London where the brand was virtually unknown. They have had to do a lot of work over the past couple of years, both to strengthen their brand presence and entice shoppers into their stores. After opening a huge shop on Kensington High Street on the site of a former department store, WFG soon realised that Europeans take a different approach to their food shopping – preferring a cosier more personal feel. Their new, smaller store featured in the Store of the Week is just down the road on Glasshouse Street. Inside they have created a fresh and friendly feel inside with rustic flooring and display units coupled with bright lighting to showcase the different sections of the store. This design strategy is paying off and Retail Week suggest that this smaller store may be the retail formula that will open new opportunities for the brand in Europe.

Não do Brasil, Berlin, Germany

In Não do Brasil the focus is on the product – rows of brightly coloured trainers sit side by side and grouped by size in curved black display units along each wall of the store.

The central floor area is left clear allowing shoppers to peruse at leisure with plenty of elbow room, taking in the different designs with no distractions from diverting retail designs – for this type of store it works well – simple and effective.

Mini pop-up, Westfield Stratford City, London, UK

One of our favourites of 2012 – we already blogged about this fab pop-up store at Westfield shopping centre earlier in the year in this post [link]. From the eye-catching real Mini car sticking out from the side of the building you know that this store is going to be something special. Inside there are a wealth of cutting edge retail design gadgets to entice Mini brand enthusiasts – from interactive mirrors to games – it is easy to see why this store has won so many accolades and awards. It will be open until February 2013 if you ‘d like to check it out.

United Nude pop-up, Knightsbridge, London, UK

Another fabulous display of shoes – the United Nude brand have a reputation to uphold – renowned both for the architectural nature of their shoes and their store designs. Expectations for this pop-up in Knightsbridge were exceeded in this innovative design. The brand’s signature dramatic lighting follows the visual merchandising principle of a ‘dark store’ where only the merchandise is lit and the style of the shoes lends itself perfectly to this concept – as you can see from the photo. The United Nude pop-up, situated on Brompton Road is one of three in London, and will be open until April.